[rossdavidh]

I have, many many times, seen a large organization "crash" a project, that is to say put a bunch of new developers into it. It almost never works. The first thing that happens is that everything stops, while the existing devs tell the new ones what is going on and what needs to be done.

The second reason it doesn't work is that splitting the app into separate parts that can be worked on in parallel, is essentially determining the software architecture. If you haven't sorted that out then the different parts will get built, not work together, and then there will be a sh*%storm of blaming each other for why they don't work together.

There are cases where new devs can help, but if you don't have the overall architecture sorted out yet, then they will not, and if you do then there is a finite pace at which new devs can be integrated and brought up to speed.

The old analogy to pregnancy is, in fact, spot on.